5 Things to Do This Weekend, Thanksgiving edition

This week’s suggestions: Catch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, watch some Thanksgiving football, get out of the house for a movie, start your Christmas decorating and prepare to shop.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

For many, the holiday season officially kicks off Thanksgiving morning, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade marches it in. This year’s parade steps off at 9 a.m. on CBS, so be sure to start off the day by catching some of the festivities. Or if you’re fortunate enough to live in a town that’s holding its own Thanksgiving Day parade, be sure to check it out – nothing beats a live parade.

Give thanks for sports

Thanksgiving Day also kicks off a great sports-watching weekend. If there are men at your Thanksgiving party, they’ll undoubtedly end up watching one of the NFL games on that day: Packers vs. Lions, Raiders vs. Cowboys and Giants vs. Broncos. For game times, head to www.nfl.com. College football and basketball have big games planned starting Thursday as well. Check out schedules and more at www.ncaa.com. And if you want to watch something a little different, check out the annual pumpkin-chucking contest on the Science Channel (it’s exactly what it sounds like). Get more information at http://science.discovery.com.

On your marks …

Some people prefer watching full-contact sports, while others enjoy the thrill of participating in them. We’re speaking here, of course, about shopping. The sales are expected to be better than ever because of the economy, and the stores will be crowded Friday. Get there early and enjoy the madness, but please, be careful – we don’t need to see any more Black Friday shopping-related deaths like we did last year.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

This weekend traditionally marks the start of Christmas decorating, so break out your ornaments, take the kids to get a Christmas tree (or dig the artificial one out of your attic) and start the trimming. You can keep your children busy and entertained by having them help decorate or by having them make some decorations of their own (snowflakes, ornaments, etc.).

Wanna get away?

Need to get out of the house for a couple hours? Why not check out one of this week’s new movies (though only one is kid-friendly). “Old Dogs,” starring John Travolta and Robin Williams, opens Wednesday, and the PG movie looks to be a great family film that will entertain people of all ages. Also opening Wednesday are two R-rated movies, “The Road,” the movie based on Cormac McCarthy’s book that stars Viggo Mortensen, and “Ninja Assassin,” a movie about, well, a ninja assassin. The Wachowski brothers (the “Matrix” movies) are tied to this, so it should be fun – for adults. And don’t forget – “New Moon” is still playing, and if you’re looking for a Christmasy movie, “A Christmas Carol” is still in theaters.

GateHouse News Service

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